The Champions Moto Street Tracker is so minimalist, it doesn't even have a key. And that isn't because it's a futuristic belly shover launched with the swipe of a smartphone.

Quite the opposite. The retro flat tracker is a street version of an underexploited motorcycling subculture – one that takes place on oval tracks constructed from decomposed shale and sees its riders mostly sideways as they careen around corners at speeds exceeding 100 mph.

Like a true flat track race bike, the Street Tracker keeps the 19-inch knobbies and jettisons pretty much everything else. There are no turn signals or mirrors. There's no tach, no speedo, no gas gauge. Heck, there's barely even any gas since the tank is true to the sport and holds just enough fuel to get riders around the oval for a 10-lap race. On the street, that translates to about 30 miles, making the Street Tracker the rare gas-powered motorcycle to induce range anxiety.

The Street Tracker may not look particularly extreme with its streamlined style lifted from a '70s Trackmaster-framed Triumph, but it's truly a bike for purists. I was riding a prototype powered with a highly modified 790 parallel twin lifted from a 2004 Triumph Bonneville and boosted to 75 horsepower. Production versions will be outfitted with an 865. Both engines are fed with dual carburetors, the petcocks for which are old school and show no mercy. The fuel is either on or it's off. There's no reserve, which can get a bit dicey at freeway speeds, especially for riders who live full throttle. But this isn't a bike for freeways. It's a thoroughbred for boulevard showboating.

When I first took the Street Tracker around my neighborhood, I longed for mirrors, but it turned out to be for naught. The bike's two-into-one exhaust was so loud, I didn't need to tell anyone I was there. Nor did it take much to get away from surrounding traffic. The Street Tracker is so torquey it wants to ride up and over whatever's idling in front of it at the mildest easing of its hydraulic clutch. I just twisted the grip, and I was gone.

How fast I was going, I have no idea. All I knew is that I wanted a sixth gear once I'd reached full speed, but there wasn't one.

What the Street Tracker lacks in DOT requirements, it makes up with minimalist style. The profile of the bike is long and horizontal, with a slight dip for its saddle that provides all the comfort of a two-by-four. The Street Tracker may be outfitted with dual Race Tech shocks, but they were set up for its 260-pound creator, not the 135-pound woman who inadvertently plowed it through an unforgiving pothole that almost resulted in an ejection.

Champions Moto is primarily a motorcycle parts and apparel maker. Its bestselling component is an oil frame cooler for modern Triumphs. The Costa Mesa shop has built just three complete motorcycles in three different retro styles, including a cafe racer and a two-wheeled hot rod it calls the Miler. Still, the shop has yet to sell its first complete bike, which could have something to do with the price.

The Street Tracker costs $37,500. A close look at its chromoly frame and custom components reveals some of the reasons why. The tires are tubeless to reduce unsprung weight, and the axles, exhaust and most of its fasteners are high-cost but weight-reducing titanium. The tail section is trimmed with carbon fiber.

A refreshing departure from the last decade's trajectory of trends, from chopper to bobber to bagger, the Champions Moto Street Tracker blazes a unique trail that pays tribute to the past while jetting toward the future.

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